ESPN Vs. YouTube TV: Fragmentation Has Limited ESPN's Value To Sports Fans

ESPN might have less leverage over sports fans than it realizes.

At the start of the Disney–YouTube TV standoff, industry observers expected Google to cave. YouTube TV may be the most popular live TV streaming service, but it isn’t dramatically different from competitors like Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, or Sling. ESPN, meanwhile, is the only network that offers Monday Night Football and its exclusive slate of college football.

Yet so far, the ratings suggest fewer viewers switched from YouTube TV to a rival service than anticipated.

Perhaps subscribers are simply comfortable with YouTube TV. Maybe they have too much saved to their cloud DVR to justify changing services. However, it’s also possible that subscribers have realized ESPN isn’t as necessary as it once was.

That’s not to say ESPN’s lineup of live sports isn’t strong. It is. But the fragmentation of live sporting rights has diluted the value of any single network. Consider the NFL, by far America’s most popular sport. ESPN's package is arguably the fifth-best this season.

This past Monday’s Eagles–Packers matchup was an exception. But with increased focus on Thursday Night Football, Christmas Day games on Netflix, and an expanded slate of international contests, ESPN’s schedule this season included plenty of Jets–Dolphins, Bengals–Broncos, Chargers–Raiders, and Bucs–Texans-type matchups.

There was a time when missing Monday Night Football was almost unthinkable for even casual football fans. Today, with so many games available elsewhere, they can handle missing a game or two.

ESPN

The same is true in other sports. ESPN is now one of three — rather than two — NBA partners, as NBC and Amazon entered the mix this season. Unlike in previous years, ESPN no longer carries NBA games on Fridays. For the first half of the season, the NBA will air on ESPN only on Mondays, while Amazon, NBC, and Peacock handle most other nights.

Elsewhere, ESPN has scaled back its investment in Major League Baseball. Beginning next season, NBC will take over Sunday Night Baseball and the first round of the playoffs, two properties ESPN previously carried.

College football remains the network’s strongest asset. With the SEC, ESPN and ABC still broadcast many of the week’s top matchups. However, losing the Big Ten has strengthened Fox and others.

ESPN’s daily talk shows also aren’t enough of a reason for fans to switch providers. Most would agree there’s no shortage of free sports commentary online, making it hard to justify paying specifically for shows like First Take or Pardon the Interruption.

None of this means fans don’t value ESPN. Of course, they do. But as leagues and networks have pushed for higher rights fees and more streaming deals, the cost of watching sports has become excessive. Fans now have to pay multiple subscriptions just to keep up. At some point, they were bound to draw the line.

With games scattered across so many platforms, fans have finally drawn that line.